How the Scarlet Macaw got its' coloured coat

There once lived a grey Macaw who fell in love with a human. Every day he would fly around her hoping to get her attention. But she did not see him for his coat was too dull. Instead, she was captivated by a Turquoise-browed Motmot that lived nearby. The Macaw was jealous of the colourful coat of the Motmot, he wanted to be colourful too so that his human would notice him.

So he decided that he too would paint his wings with colour. He flew through the lush rainforests of Central America collecting berries and fruit of every colour. He wanted to be the most colourful bird around. When he had all the fruit he could carry, he placed them on the floor and squished them with his little feet before rolling around in their juices, covering himself with all their colours.

He flew up in the air and over the river, ecstatic to see that his pale, bland, grey feathers were now filled with colour in his reflection. He found his human, sitting on a rock and collecting multicoloured flowers. The Macaw flew up to her, fluttering his wings and showing off his new coat of colours. The human was mesmerised, all those vibrant colours on such a small creature. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He was the most beautiful bird she had ever seen.

But then suddenly, the heavens opened up and heavy rain poured down over all the lands. As the raindrops hit the Macaw’s wings, his painted colours slowly began to fade, dripping away into the soil. All his hard work was in vain. The human looked up to see the fascinating coloured bird be replaced with a grey one and sighed, she was no longer in awe. She ran further into the forest to find shelter from the rain and the Macaw sat in a tree in tears. He had lost his human once again.

He cursed the sky, angry that it was trying to take away his happiness. He just wanted to be colourful so that his human would love him the way she loved the Motmot. The sky hearing the sorrows of this sad Macaw decided that it would help. So out burst a flamboyant rainbow from the depths of the sky. It was so radiant that all the creatures from the forest came scurrying out from their shelters to gape in amazement.

The Macaw seeing this colourful display in the sky realised that the sky had answered his cry. Overfilled with joy he took off flying towards the rainbow. His wings battled against the strong winds and the heavy downpour of torrents. His body tiring at his effort to reach the rainbow. The more he flew towards it the more it seemed to fly away, a never-ending journey. But the Macaw would not give up. He would adorn all the colours of the rainbow so that his human would never be able to take her eyes off of him. So he flew and he flew until finally, he reached the rainbow in the sky.

Without any hesitation he flew straight through the kaleidoscope of colours, impatient to be beautiful. Through the other side emerged a Macaw that was no longer pale, bland and grey, but so multi-coloured that he too seemed to resemble a rainbow. Red, green, blue and yellow. He was so stunning that no creature who laid eyes on him could look away. He was the envy of all the creatures in the rainforest. And so the Scarlet Macaw was born.

The Scarlet Macaw, unable to contain his joy, flew straight to his human to show her his new colours. The human was awestricken, unable to move, the Macaw looked like a rainbow that she could touch. She was so enchanted by his colours that she fell in love. The Scarlet Macaw had never been happier, he thanked the sky and the rainbow. He was dull no more.